As the year comes to a close, I often reach out to John Arensmeyer, who is founder and CEO of Small Business Majority, to get his take on the state of small businesses in America. The picture John paints this year, based on his own observations as well as a recent survey, is not pretty. He points to a host of issues -- health insurance, tariffs, immigration, cuts to federal programs -- every one of which can represent an existential threat to a business. John does note, however, that through it all, owners appear to remain surprisingly optimistic heading into 2026—even if that optimism speaks more to the resilience of business owners than it does to the economic outlook.